Wagner - Das Rheingold Reviews

Interesting ...

This is a filmed production of Das Rheingold directed by Herbert von Karajan.

The first scene has the Rheinmaidens 'swimming', which is something you don't often see! The second and fourth scenes look more like a stage set. The third scene is the most elaborately produced.

It's an interesting concept, and is a very traditional 'naturalistic' production, which works well in places, but less so in others.

It was filmed, and the performers mimed to a recording - most to their own singing, but a few did not sing their own roles (and were presumably cast for their appearance, such as the Rheinmaidens).

There are a few lip-sync errors, but mostly that's not a problem.

I assume the idea of making a film like this was to get past the restrictions of a theatrical production, but this is only partly successful.

The descent to Nibelheim is quite spectacular, but the appearance of Valhalla and the rainbow bridge at the end is a bit 'washed out'. Also, I thought the way von Karajan handled the appearance of Erda was surprisingly cheesy and cheap-looking!

Overall, it's well worth watching (Loge is great), even if, in the final analysis, a recording of a good live stage performance is going to be more vital. I thought the performances here were good, but not outstanding (except for Loge) - I also thought the music was a bit lacking in tension and pace in places, something I never found with von Karajan's DG recordings of the complete cycle (this production is not the same recording). And he uses a few too many close-ups for my liking.

This was the first in a projected complete filmed cycle, but I believe he couldn't raise the money to do the other parts ...